NORFOLK, Va. — Nicknamed “the biggest and baddest,” the first in its class USS Gerald R. Ford is the most sophisticated nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the entire world.
Aside from the flight deck that helps launch F/A-18 Super Hornets and other crucial aircraft, the U.S. Navy's largest carrier is essentially an entire city on the water.
Every sailor aboard serves a unique role in supporting the Navy’s overall mission.
“With the air wing on board, we probably have about 5,000 people, so it's busy,” Commander Kristina O’Connor, a physician by trade, said.
O’Connor, a University of South Florida graduate, is the senior medical officer — essentially the top doc on board the USS Gerald R. Ford, overseeing what's essentially the ship's hospital.
“If you would’ve asked me 20 years ago, would you ever be on a ship in this role? I would have said there's no way,” O’Connor told 10 Tampa Bay.
20 years ago, she was a star pole vaulter for the Bulls’ track and field team.
“I lived right by Busch Gardens. So spent quite a bit of time there and then down in Ybor City, Columbia Restaurant. I got married at the Catholic church down in downtown Tampa,” O’Connor recalled of her time in Tampa, saying she sought out service in the military as a way to afford medical school.
“I finished the scholarship, did my time, and then I said, if it's fun, I'll stay and if it's not, then I'm out,” she added.
Safe to assume it’s been a fun ride. While being a mom to three kids on shore, she’s built an impressive resume from serving on the presidential squadron’s medical team, to now the Navy’s largest carrier’s medical department.
“We have all the different departments that you would have in a normal clinic, so from immunizations to basic readiness and acute care clinic. We also have the capabilities of a hospital, and so we're essentially for long-term care,” she explained.
On board, they can perform surgeries and offer primary, emergency, mental and dental health care, while anywhere out at sea.
Ready and able to keep sailors healthy to continue defending our country.
“I've had great opportunities, really all over the world,” O’Connor added.
10 Tampa Bay's Aaron Parseghian spent a week with sailors at Naval Station Norfolk and aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. Stay tuned for more coverage.